The Record: City under fire

The Record

SHOTS CONTINUE to ring out and take a toll in Paterson — on individual lives and on the collective life of the city.

The shootings happen on street corners, near all-night eateries, outside liquor stores and barbershops. They happen in all parts of the city, at all hours, and until officials find a way to curb this violence, Paterson will never be made whole.

The latest violence came Monday night, when six people standing outside a liquor store were wounded in a drive-by shooting at the corner of Godwin Avenue and Rosa Parks Boulevard, in the heart of the city's beleaguered 4th Ward. Police say the shooting occurred about 10:35 p.m., when a vehicle slowed at the intersection and someone inside fired multiple shots into the crowd. The wounded ranged in age from 17 to 61, and three victims suffered multiple wounds.

It's worth noting that the hour of the shooting would have fallen outside the realm of various business curfew-type plans pushed in recent months by some on the City Council. The council members believe that targeting so-called hot spots, such as dangerous corners or late-night chicken restaurants, would be a way to begin to get a grip on the city's crime problem.

Paterson needs a more comprehensive strategy, one that deals with the problem at many levels. Joey Torres, the former mayor and now mayor-elect, has been talking up the city's economic potential in the days since winning a third term. He has grand plans and has even pitched an intriguing idea regarding the buying up of vacant properties.

Yet before he can achieve anything, he must succeed where others, including current Mayor Jeffery Jones, have failed in regard to violent crime, much of it tied to the city's drug trade. Come July, Torres and the new council must put their heads together and come up with a multi-tiered strategy, using various funding mechanisms, to begin to make Paterson safe again.

The Record: City under fire

The Record

SHOTS CONTINUE to ring out and take a toll in Paterson — on individual lives and on the collective life of the city.

The shootings happen on street corners, near all-night eateries, outside liquor stores and barbershops. They happen in all parts of the city, at all hours, and until officials find a way to curb this violence, Paterson will never be made whole.

The latest violence came Monday night, when six people standing outside a liquor store were wounded in a drive-by shooting at the corner of Godwin Avenue and Rosa Parks Boulevard, in the heart of the city's beleaguered 4th Ward. Police say the shooting occurred about 10:35 p.m., when a vehicle slowed at the intersection and someone inside fired multiple shots into the crowd. The wounded ranged in age from 17 to 61, and three victims suffered multiple wounds.

It's worth noting that the hour of the shooting would have fallen outside the realm of various business curfew-type plans pushed in recent months by some on the City Council. The council members believe that targeting so-called hot spots, such as dangerous corners or late-night chicken restaurants, would be a way to begin to get a grip on the city's crime problem.

Paterson needs a more comprehensive strategy, one that deals with the problem at many levels. Joey Torres, the former mayor and now mayor-elect, has been talking up the city's economic potential in the days since winning a third term. He has grand plans and has even pitched an intriguing idea regarding the buying up of vacant properties.

Yet before he can achieve anything, he must succeed where others, including current Mayor Jeffery Jones, have failed in regard to violent crime, much of it tied to the city's drug trade. Come July, Torres and the new council must put their heads together and come up with a multi-tiered strategy, using various funding mechanisms, to begin to make Paterson safe again.